Metapragmatic instruction (6Rs) versus input-based practice: a comparison of their effects on pragmatic accuracy and speed in the recognition and oral production of English refusals

Abstract

ABSTRACTRecent findings in the field of pragmatics have revealed that pragmatic accuracy (knowledge) and pragmatic speed (processing ability) function as two distinct and non-parallel components of pragmatic competence. Anderson’s adaptive control of thought–rational (ACT-R) model, which emphasises the development of skill through repeated practice, offers a useful framework for understanding how pragmatic speed can be enhanced. This study set to examine the impact of an ACT-R based form of instruction, input-based practice, on the development of pragmatic recognition and oral production of English refusals in a group of Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. It compared the results from that pedagogic treatment with those from a similar group following ‘6Rs’ metapragmatic instruction, which does not include repeated activities. A total of 115 Iranian EFL students took part in the study. The findings suggest the value of both input-based practice and metapragmatic instruction in developing different aspects of L2 pragmatic competence; input-based practice was found to impact more on language learners’ pragmatic speed while the 6Rs approach had a more consistent impact on pragmatic accuracy.